I am not a big eater, will I still lose weight on the sleeve

Hi eels,

I was similar to you with not being a big eater. I was on 2 optifast shakes a day (by choice) and would have a small dinner of half a chicken breast and veggies or similar. I had been seeing a dietician for 3 years and was under her instruction. She told me to stop going to the gym as I was just putting on weight and to walk instead. Regardless of what I did, my weight just kept increasing. Previously I had lost 20kg on optifast 3 shakes a day. My metabolism was tested and was slow but surgery was my only option to lose weight and keep it off.

My mum is the same as me. She is also doing the shakes but her weight is increasing too. She now has a referral to my nutritionist in a month. I would love for her to get a sleeve as she has been on diets most so her life but we will wait and see what the nutritionist suggests.

I understand where you are coming from. The previous suggestions are good starting points if you haven't already been doing this. Good luck with whatever you decide to do. I am so happy I finally got my sleeve as I don't have to watch my weight continue to go up and up!

I'm no expert but my understanding is that a diagnosed under active thyroid complicates weight loss but I do believe that there are foods that help to get the metabolism going. I thought the drugs would help. Also that exercise is a key factor to assist and where joint pain is a problem water exercise is great .My mother suffered the same problem but I can tell you that my observation of her over most of my life is that she also does not realize her portion size or what makes good choices this is where a dietician comes in. You would definitely need to see the specialist before thinking of sleeve surgery but in the booklet sent to me for study before my appointment it does rule out people who have hormonal reasons for weight gain and I think that is the thyroid.

Hi eels.

I guess for me it comes down to simple maths. Energy in, energy out. Do you know how many calories you are consuming in one day right now?

It is recommended the average person consume 1200 cals to lose weight and 1800 cals to maintain a weight. Since being sleeved I only consume 900 calories a day, in the early days of my sleeve I could only get in 600 cals a day. I do no formal exercise at all and in 11 mths have dropped 52kgs.

The reason i suggest this is, my sil was adamant she was a small eater and did not understand why she was obese, she saw me using myfitnesspal since being sleeved. So decided to track her food (for fun). Together we weighed, measured and tracked everything for a week. Turns out she was averaging over 2500 cals a day, first thing she realised was her idea of a portion size was completely wrong, things she was classifying as 1 portion were actually say 4 portions and food she thought healthy was actually high in calories, it was a real eye opener for her.

Or it could be that you have the opposite problem, perhaps you are eating too few calories and your body is in starvation mode.

Maybe you could post here how your average food day looks and sleevers can compare that to what they eat to give you an idea as well

So I think you need to start your journey by seeing your calorie intake, using something like myfitnesspal, weighing, measuring (to ensure you have the right portion sizes) and recording everything you eat, if it is as you say and your barely eating anything, then I think you need to see a professional to look for a medical reason why you are overweight, I wouldn't just be accepting a dietician telling you you are genetically predispostioned.

Will i lose weight, I am not a big eater. Is there anyone else like me?
Where do I start, well, I am from Brisbane,Australia. I am hoping to get the sleeve in around August but I am worried if it will be for nothing. I am 146 kg and have always been big. I was in hospital for 3 weeks when I was five [to lose weight ], and lost very little. I have been on all different diets ever since. At 18, i got a Gastric band , I was about 19 stone then and I managed to lose about a stone. The Band
I got didn't have a fill port and I have been told by a Surgeon that they were quite inferior back then [26 years ago] and weren't very successful. I have yoyo dieted all my life and have never been below 16 stone. I was healthiest when pregnant losing weight without trying all 4 times. After my last baby [16 years ago] the doctor found I had an underactive thyroid. I am on pills for this, bloodpressure,arthritis, stomach probs ect. The sad thing is I eat less than your average normal weight person. I also eat mostly healthy things. So many people don't believe you when you tell them that you don't eat alot, but finally my dietitian told me I am not big because of what I eat, I am genetically predispositioned. I am really happy that people are losing weight with the sleeve, but what worries me is that i mostly read they were overeaters and couldn't stop, for me this is not the case. I need to lose weight as i have arthritis in both hips and my back, and get a lot of pain. I am not very active. Is there anyone who is like me and had success with the sleeve. xxxx